"We can't say that all lives matter until we show that Black lives matter," said @LPNational VP candidate @RealSpikeCohen. "We can't show that #BlackLivesMatter until we get rid of the gun control laws that make it so hard for y'all to defend your lives in the first place."
Asking for their vote, @RealSpikeCohen told the crowd that he and @Jorgensen4POTUS would "end the war on guns... end the war on drugs, and end qualified immunity and end civil asset forfeiture, and end no-knock raids, and end cash bail, and end mandatory minimum sentencing."
Cohen says the "Republicrat Party is one and the same" and that this kind of rally "completely destroys their narrative."
He frames the D's and R's as being the same but threatening voters with the fear of the other.
A BLM activist mentions the Biden "You ain't Black" gaffe.
Self-described "#Boogaloo Boy" Mike Dunn spoke to the crowd holding a semi automatic 12 gauge shotgun.
He says that citizens supporting the Republicans and Democrats continue to "spit-shine the boot that tread on each and every one of you."
Mike Dunn - the speaker in the previous tweet - is also an organizer of an open carry gun rally in Richmond tomorrow morning as the Virginia General Assembly holds a special session.
I plan to cover it live.
An activist with @BLM757 said that while D's get support from CNN and Fox supports R's, Libertarians don't get a media platform even though they're "doing the work."
He adds that some of his group will also be out on Tuesday.
(I'll be sure to speak to them out there too!)
A group calling themselves the "Original Black Panthers of Virginia" spoke out against those who don't consistently come out to events, and encouraged consistent activism.
He concluded with chants of "All power to the people!" "No justice no peace!" and "Black power!"
"Black guns really do matter."
A few members of the The Huey P. Newton Gun Club also attended.
One described the instinct to bear arms like a porcupine with needles to stop would-be attackers.
"It is nature for you to protect yourself, to defend yourself, and your family."
THREAD: On Tuesday, Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) officers with the Norfolk FBI and assistance from the ATF arrested Virginia man Brad Spafford for possessing an unregistered short barrel rifle (SBR).
The arrest was the result of a multi-year Confidential Human Source (CHS).
2) A Confidential Human Source (CHS, commonly known as "informant" or colloquially as "snitch") reported in January 2023 that Spafford lost fingers on Independence Day 2021 "while working with a homemade explosive device."
He says Spafford and friends were making ammunition for "something that Spafford would not be able to do alone."
The informant reportedly saw Spafford's hands "before and after the event" which is confusingly worded; if he saw them in person, then the informant has been around the defendant for more than three years.
If he saw them pre- disfigurement some other way, like a photo, then he still has been around him for at least nearly two years.
3) In May 2023, the informant and Spafford went to a gun range together, each with "their own weapons."
The informant brought his own Short Barrel Rifle, but it was registered.
The now-defendant allegedly brought what the informant believed was also an SBR.
Just now: Attendees of Vice President Kamala Harris’s rally at the Ellipse resort to climbing over the “scale proof” fences surrounding the event after exit gates were closed, apparently due to pro-Palestine protesters on the other side.
2) "Push it down!"
During some of the confusion as police wouldn't allow people to leave the Harris Ellipse speech, some pushed over a small plastic fence that divided them from other people also trying to exit.
It didn't make a difference.
3) "You say it's open but where's it open?" crowds frustrated attempted to confront police as they had difficulty leaving the Harris rally.
"No! No! No!" a cop said as a man jumped, leaving a woman with him behind, who would have had to find a not-closed gate.
Meanwhile, police attempted to confine the pro-Palestine protests outside.
VIDEO THREAD: "Queers love Palestine! HRC loves the war machine!"
Protesters rallied against the Human Rights Campaign dinner tonight featuring Tim Walz in DC to condemn their relationship with weapons manufacturers, which they say enable genocide.
"We're not interupting!" they chanted. "Pink washing is disgusting!"
2) Protesters put red paint on their hands to symbolize what they say is the Human Rights Campaign's support for the killing of Palestinians.
"HRC is using our name to pinkwash an administration committing genocide, burning children under rubble but those children are not human enough for the Human Rights campaign, shame!"
3) "We are here, we are queer! Zionists not welcome here!"
Protesters banged on the windows overlooking the escalator and lobby that HRC guests went through to get to the gala with Tim Walz.
Police stepped in, forcing them away from the glass.
This is my 4K footage of how the violence outside the United States Capitol began today.
You can see the first mace deployed (over the heads of officers, toward the activists) which angers the pro-Palestine crowd, who begins throwing water bottles as officers continue using mace.
A little over a minute into the clip is a flash grenade, one of only a couple I saw used today.
My understanding is this occurred after Netanyahu arrived but before he spoke to Congress.
2) As police engaged the crowd, a man scolded police and was maced as well.
The crowd continued marching, taking a wider route around the Capitol and avoiding most confrontations during the march itself.
3) "Smack Netanyahu in the head with that billy club!"
Activists continued a wide march around the United States Capitol from the West side to the East side clockwise.
Some pro-Israel, anti-Netanyahu activists stood along the path and were mostly ignored. Police blocked off streets heading close to the Capitol complex.
VIDEO THREAD: Protesters gathered Tuesday night in front of the Watergate Hotel (the second night in a row) for a noise demonstration against Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, who is staying inside.
"From DC to Palestine, Netanyahu's out of time!" chanted protesters using red and green smoke bombs. "Shut, shut, shut it down, no Zionism in this town!"
2) "Allahu Akbar! Hamas!" yelled one man through the fencer outside the Watergate at Israel supporters counter-protesting them from inside.
"Jewish motherf***ers!" he yelled. "We're gonna kill all of you!"
"We're gonna burn you!"
It should be noted that it was one lone individual, not the wider protest, using this specific rhetoric.
3) One man dawning an Israeli flag confronted the pro-Palestine protesters directly outside the Watergate.
"You're a coward, you should join the IDF and kill kids yourself, because you're a p***y," he was told.
The man says he's from Jerusalem, but he donates, rather than being in the IDF.